TFL Vsebine / Revija SIR*IUS

Legal aspects of dismissing employees (business reasons, fault, incompetence...)

Delovno razmerje je civilnopravno razmerje, pri katerem je avtonomija pogodbene volje pogodbenih strank omejena zaradi varstva pravic delavcev kot pogodbeno šibkejše in odvisne stranke. Omejevanje avtonomije volje pogodbenih strank se razteza tudi na institut prenehanja pogodbe o zaposlitvi, kar pomeni, da morata tako delodajalec kot tudi delavec pri sporazumni ali enostranski prekinitvi delovnega razmerja upoštevati določbe zakona, ki ureja delovna razmerja, določbe drugih zakonov in predpisov, ratificiranih in objavljenih mednarodnih pogodb, kolektivnih pogodb in splošnih aktov delodajalca. Delovno razmerje lahko preneha po volji delavca ali delodajalca, pri čemer pa je zakonska ureditev za vsako od pogodbenih strank različna. Delovnopravni predpisi ne dajejo posebnega varstva delodajalcu pred odpovedjo, ki jo poda delavec, in delavčeva svoboda glede odločitve o prenehanju delovnega razmerja ni omejena. Nasprotno pa delovno pravo omejuje svobodo delodajalca pri odpovedi pogodbe o zaposlitvi, saj po eni strani varuje trajnost delovnega razmerja, po drugi pa delavca kot pogodbeno šibkejšo stranko. Prenehanje delovnega razmerja lahko delavca, ki mu je delovno razmerje prenehalo neodvisno od njegove volje, postavi v ekonomsko in socialno negotov položaj zaradi izgube dohodka. V tem prispevku je predstavljen delovnopravni okvir, ki ureja pravice in obveznosti delavcev in delodajalcev v zvezi s prenehanjem delovnega razmerja.

An employment relationship is a civil legal relationship in which the autonomy of the parties to the contract is limited in order to protect the rights of workers as the weaker and dependent party to the contract. The restriction on the autonomy of the will of the contracting parties extends also to the institution of termination of the employment contract, which means that both the employer and the employee, when terminating the employment relationship, whether by mutual agreement or unilaterally, must comply with the provisions of the law governing employment relationships, other laws and regulations, ratified and published international treaties, collective agreements and the employer’s general acts. The termination of the employment relationship may take place at the will of either the employee or the employer, but the legal regime is different for each of the parties to the contract. Labour law does not offer any specific protection to the employer against termination by the employee and the employee’s reedom to decide on the termination of the employment relationship is not restricted. On the contrary, labour law limits the employer’s freedom to terminate the employment contract by protecting, on the one hand, the durability of the employment relationship and, on the other hand, the employee as the weaker party to the contract. The termination of an employment relationship may place an employee whose employment has been terminated independently of his or her will in an economically and socially precarious situation due to loss of income. This paper will present the labour law framework governing the rights and obligations of workers and employers in relation to the termination of an employment relationship.